System and method for identifying power usage issues

ABSTRACT

A system and method analyzes resource consumption without requiring sensors at every device for which consumption is analyzed. Data rates used to provide resource use information may be increased or decreased based on user actions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of attorney docket number 1655, U.S.Provisional application Ser. No. 61/198,680, entitled, Method andApparatus for Identifying Power Usage Issues filed by Gary Grossman,Robert Tatsumi, Peter Santangeli, Jonathan Gay and Matthew Smith on Nov.6, 2008, having the same assignee as the present application and ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to computer software and morespecifically to computer software for residential power analysis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Power analysis systems in residences have not been successful in themarketplace because the systems require sensors on resource consumingdevices, like refrigerators, pool pumps and the like. The costs of thesensors and their installation can be so high that homeowners areunwilling to take the risk of purchasing a system that may not save themmore than the cost of the system.

As smart power meters are installed between the power grid and homes,this represents an opportunity to install a solution in the power meterthat can be used to implement power analysis functions. For example, ameter could be developed that would recognize a power signature of eachdevice in the home. However, this would require a meter that reportedthe power thousands of times per second, to provide the resolution ofthe power use that could be used in such a system. Currently availablemeters do not report this frequently. Although they could be made toincrease their reporting rate, this too would increase the cost of thesystem. Utilities are frequently the party that bears the cost of aretrofit of a meter. Many utilities would not want to pay the extracosts for such a meter. Furthermore, the network capacity for manymeters may be limited, and that much data could be problematic.

What is needed is a system and method that can analyze power usagewithout requiring power sensors on every device, can use thecapabilities of existing smart meters, and will not overload the networkbandwidth of the smart meters.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A system and method uses the capabilities of the smart power meter, anyother smart meters, and any devices capable of power monitoring, toreceive power monitoring reports at a central server. Weather reportsfrom Internet web sites that supply such reports may also be used. Thesystem and method displays the power usage to the user in near realtime, graphically showing the level of power being used at the user'sresidence or business over time. The system and method incorporatesreports of power usage from any devices that monitor their own powerusage. For other devices, the user can turn devices on and off, ormonitor times devices have turned themselves on or off, and thenvisually identify the power usage of such devices using the graphdisplayed, and indicate the name of the device, and the system andmethod associates the name with the power usage and attempts to identifythe power usage over typical multiple times of operation of the device.If the power usage can not be automatically identified, the system andmethod prompts the user for information to allow its manualidentification. Thus, although devices with power sensing capabilitiescan be used, the power usage of devices without such capability can beanalyzed as well. A data structure containing power usage of ananonymous device is thus transformed with the name of the device.

The system and method may then compare the resource usage of a devicewith that of other similar devices or similar devices in the samegeographic area to identify problems or make recommendations regardingthe saving of power. Information may be provided to retailers ormanufacturers who can market devices that have a lower resourceconsumption profile than the device the user has, and can make precisecost/benefit comparisons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of a conventional computer system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of analyzing power usageaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing resource usagedata from a meter according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing resource usagedata from a meter according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of analyzing resource usageaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block schematic diagram of a system for analyzing powerusage according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a display screen according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the server of FIG. 6 inmore detail according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the resource assignmentmanager of FIG. 8 in more detail according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the client computersystem of FIG. 6 in more detail according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the reportingapparatus of the meters or collector of FIG. 6 in more detail accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be implemented as computer software on aconventional computer system. Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventionalcomputer system 150 for practicing the present invention is shown.Processor 160 retrieves and executes software instructions stored instorage 162 such as memory, which may be Random Access Memory (RAM) andmay control other components to perform the present invention. Storage162 may be used to store program instructions or data or both. Storage164, such as a computer disk drive or other nonvolatile storage, mayprovide storage of data or program instructions. In one embodiment,storage 164 provides longer term storage of instructions and data, withstorage 162 providing storage for data or instructions that may only berequired for a shorter time than that of storage 164. Input device 166such as a computer keyboard or mouse or both allows user input to thesystem 150. Output 168, such as a display or printer, allows the systemto provide information such as instructions, data or other informationto the user of the system 150. Storage input device 170 such as aconventional floppy disk drive or CD-ROM drive accepts via input 172computer program products 174 such as a conventional floppy disk orCD-ROM or other nonvolatile storage media that may be used to transportcomputer instructions or data to the system 150. Computer programproduct 174 has encoded thereon computer readable program code devices176, such as magnetic charges in the case of a floppy disk or opticalencodings in the case of a CD-ROM which are encoded as programinstructions, data or both to configure the computer system 150 tooperate as described below.

In one embodiment, each computer system 150 is a conventional SUNMICROSYSTEMS ULTRA 10 workstation running the SOLARIS operating systemcommercially available from SUN MICROSYSTEMS, Inc. of Mountain View,Calif., a PENTIUM-compatible personal computer system such as areavailable from DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION of Round Rock, Tex. running aversion of the WINDOWS operating system (such as 95, 98, Me, XP, NT or2000) commercially available from MICROSOFT Corporation of Redmond Wash.or a Macintosh computer system running the MACOS or OPENSTEP operatingsystem commercially available from APPLE INCORPORATED of Cupertino,Calif. and the FIREFOX browser commercially available from MOZILLAFOUNDATION of Mountain View, Calif. or INTERNET EXPLORER browsercommercially available from MICROSOFT above, although other systems suchas cell phones, IPHONES commercially available from APPLE, INC. andtouch screen photo viewers may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a method of analyzing power or other resourceconsumption is shown according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

Registration information is received, for example, from the user, andcost data is received, for example, from a utility 210. In oneembodiment the registration information may include a name andaddress/city/state/zip, utility account number or meter identifier or anidentifier of a device that collects resource use information andprovides it to a server as described in more detail herein. Registrationinformation may include receipt or assignment of a user identifier andreceipt of a password.

The user logs into a server via a computer coupled to a network, such asthe Internet 212. In one embodiment, in response, the server notifiesthe user's power meter using the registration information, and theuser's power meter changes from providing data at a second rate, toproviding data at a first rate, whereby the first rate is faster thanthe second rate. For example, the power meter may provide an indicationof the rate of power being supplied every 15 minutes at the second rate,and every 5 seconds at the first rate. In one embodiment, suchnotification and change in rates does not occur until the user indicatesthat the user wishes to view resource use or provide device assignmentsas described in more detail herein. Other types of meters may be usedinstead of, or in addition to, the power meter.

Resource use is received by the server 214. In one embodiment, resourcesmay include power, water, natural gas phone, cable, or other utilities.In one embodiment, the server may receive resource use at other times,but the reports are provided at a slower rate than it is received whenthe user has logged in as described above. In one embodiment, step 214includes displaying the resource use to the user, and receivingassignments of devices to portions of the resources being used asdescribed in more detail herein.

Weather information may be received for an area at least near the user'slocation, for example, from a web site that provides weather byproviding the user's zip code, or weather information may be retrievedfrom a database 216. In one embodiment weather information includesconditions such as sunny, cloudy, rain, etc., wind speeds, and/oroutside temperature. Additionally, thermostat information may bereceived from a thermostat capable of transmitting such information.Thermostat information may include the temperature at the thermostat orat one or more sensors monitored by the thermostat, the triggertemperature or temperatures at which heating or cooling devices, such asa heat pump or furnace, will turn on. The on or off status or resourceconsumption amount of the device controlled by the thermostat may alsobe received.

Usage data for other resources, such as water or gas may be received andused as described in more detail with respect to FIG. 7.

Resource use is analyzed 220 based on the identifier of each device, bycomparing the resource use to normal resource use for the environmentreported and/or based on usage reports received in a similar fashion forother users or by identifying potential savings that can be achieved bychanging the operation or environment of similar devices. For example,the power use of a refrigerator may be compared with actual resource usefor the same type of device or similar devices of other nearby users(optionally, around the same date and time) to identify that the powerusage of a refrigerator is eight times the average for the area, whichmay indicate that a replacement could save resources such as power. Thepower usage of the refrigerator may be compared with estimated powerusage of refrigerators currently available for sale to determine ifresource savings may be identified. The power use of a secondrefrigerator can be identified as one that could be eliminated. In oneembodiment, when a user identifies each device as described above, theuser may select from preselected names, such as “second refrigerator” or“garage refrigerator” to facilitate such analysis.

Suggestions are provided 222 to the user or to a third party such as aretailer to reduce resource use based on the analysis of the differentdevices, where resource use savings can be identified. The third partysuch as a retailer may then contact the user, for example, by mail or bye-mail or at the next time the user logs into the server to provideinformation about products or services that may be provided to reduceresource use, for example a more energy efficient refrigerator, or aservice that cleans the coils on a refrigerator. Suggestions may includealternatives for a device, such as a pool cover to reduce the use of apool pump. Suggestions may include suggestions regarding the operatingenvironment of a device, such as suggesting checking for blockage ofattic vents when an air conditioning unit is running several hours afterthe outside temperature has dropped lower than the desired indoortemperature.

The user may log out or the server may time out for lack of activity,and an indication that the user is no longer using the system may beprovided to the meter 224 to allow it to reduce its reporting rate asdescribed herein.

The user may implement the suggestions or the third party may work withthe user to implement the suggestions 226 and the user may repeatoperation of the method starting with step 212.

Referring now to FIG. 3 a method of changing a data transmission rate ofan electric meter or other resource meter is shown according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A notification of a log in or logout or other activities may be received 310. If the indication is a login or other indication corresponding to a need for a high data rate 312,the data rate is set to a first rate 314, and if the indication is a logout or other indication that does not correspond to a need for a highdata rate 312, the data rate of the meter is reduced to a second rate,lower than the first rate 316. Data may be reported at a rate of onceevery 1 second to once every 2 minutes at the first rate, and once every15 minutes at the second rate. Conventional run length compression orother compression may be employed (or may be employed only at the slowerrate) to only provide data corresponding to the time, direction andmagnitude of changes over a threshold percent or amount, such as 5% or0.1 KwH.

Steps 410-418 illustrate the change in transmission of pulse countinformation from a resource meter that provides pulses to indicate aquantity of the resource has been consumed. The date and time of pulsesreceived is recorded. At the end of each reporting period, the number ofpulses, or the number of pulses and duration between them is sent basedon whether the number of pulses exceeds a threshold rate. This allowsless data to be reported if the pulse rate is low.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method of assigning identifiers of devices topower consumed is shown according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The resource use from a meter such as an electric meter isdisplayed 510, for example, by sending it from a server to a user'scomputer system over a network in graphical form. In one embodiment, theform is a chart showing the rate of use of the resource plotted againstthe time of day, for a recent period such as a few minutes to a fewhours. In one embodiment, a user interface control is provided to allowthe user to zoom in or out of the graph, thereby changing the amount oftime displayed.

One or more resource use areas are identified 512 from the graph. Aresource use area corresponds to the resource being used by a singledevice or multiple devices, as will now be described.

Referring momentarily to FIG. 7, a representative graph 712 is shown.This graph illustrates a base level rate of usage of the resource, inthis case electricity, with three resource areas, such as resource area716 that indicates a device turned on and off. In one embodiment, aresource use area of the graph is identified by an area that slopesrapidly up, plateaus for some period, then slopes rapidly down. In oneembodiment, the resource use areas identified are those for which amountof the increase on the up slope is approximately equal to the amount ofdecrease on the down slope, though in other embodiments, other shapes,such as stairsteps or other more complex shapes may be identified asresource use areas that correspond to two devices turning on insuccession, and turning off in any order.

The resource use shown in FIG. 7 may correspond to a refrigerator orpool pump, for example, as such devices can cycle on and off throughoutthe day. In identifying resource use areas, known resource use may berecorded as if it were manually assigned and subtracted from theresource use indicated by the graph. For example, the resource usereported by a smart refrigerator or smart thermostat may be subtractedfrom those shown on the graph before resource use areas are identifiedto remove the effect of such known devices from the graph to removepotential sources of confusion. In one embodiment, the known resourceuses are also subtracted from the graph to eliminate potential confusionby the user. In either embodiment, the resource use areas of the graphwill correspond to the resource use indicated by other devices, and ifthe resource use of known devices is displayed on the graph, theresource use areas are considered to be above the graphical displayindicating the resource use of any known devices.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 7, cost information may also be displayed514 on the graph. In one embodiment, the cost is cost per unit of theresource, such as the cost per kilowatt hour, corresponding to the timeof day and day, received in step 210 of FIG. 2 as described above. Pricegraph 714 shows one embodiment of cost data being displayed with theresource usage data.

In one embodiment, steps 510-514 operate as a continuously runningprocess, which automatically updates in real time or nearly real time(without further user input) based on the data from the meter, and thecost at the time of day for that day.

A determination is made 516 as to whether the user is hovering a mousecursor 720 over a resource use area of the graph or is otherwiseindicating a resource use area, for example, by surrounding it byclicking and holding the mouse button down while the mouse cursor is atone corner of an area the user is defining, and then dragging the mouseto the opposite corner of a box defined by such action that will includethe intended resource use area.

The user hovers a mouse cursor if the mouse cursor does not move or doesnot substantially move for a threshold period of time.

If the user hovers over a resource use area 518, the increase in therate of use of the resource, and the duration of that use is identifiedand the cost of that use, the product of the increase, the duration, andthe cost at that time for that day, are identified and the increase andcost is displayed 520. On FIG. 7, such information is shown as costinformation 722, though other information may be displayed. Instead ofusing the increase, the minimum or the maximum of the increase and thedecrease may be used instead to cancel out effects of other devices thatmay turn on or off at the same time based on the approximate shape ofthe portion of the graph at or around the resource use area.

An identifier of the device corresponding to the resource use area overwhich the user hovered the mouse cursor is requested from the user andreceived 522, and the identifier is associated 524 with informationabout the resource use area, which may include the date and time of day,an indication of the increase in the rate of resource use thatcorresponds to that device, an indication of the duration of such use,an indication of the cost and an identifier of the user or collector ormeter. In one embodiment, associating an identifier of the device withsuch information may include adding the identifier to a data structurein a computer readable medium such as memory or disk storage thatalready has such information, or vice versa. Such association may bemade by removing or reordering identifiers of other possible devicesthat may be in the data structure to leave the identifier of the devicein place, or by marking such identifier in a list of identifiers alreadyassociated with the information. In such a way, the data structure,existing in a tangible, physical media, is transformed. The datastructure is, of course, readable by a computer system, and used for theapplied purpose of resource use analysis as described herein. In oneembodiment, the data structure need not be a single data structure, butmay be a set of related data structures, such as different tables in arelational database.

In FIG. 7, the device identifier is provided in device label area 724,and received from that area.

In one embodiment, the transformation of the data structure occurs on aserver computer system, or a client computer system, each coupled via anetwork.

In one embodiment, as increases or decreases above a thresholdpercentage (e.g. 5%) in the rate of resources used appears on thedisplay, as part of step 510, a change notice is provided thatidentifies the magnitude of the most recent change. FIG. 7 illustrates alarge increase 728 being displayed, for example, as the next cycle ofthe device corresponding to resource use area 716 appears. Change notice730 is displayed along with change device label 732 that allows the userto identify the device corresponding to the resource use area to whichthe increase corresponds. Step 516 also includes detecting if the userhas entered such a change device label, and if so 518, the device changelabel is associated with the information corresponding to the resourceuse area to which the increase or decrease corresponds 532, in a mannersimilar or identical to that described with respect to step 524, and themethod continues at step 526.

Frequency of use of the device may be identified 526. In one embodiment,step 526 includes attempting to identify other resource use areas thathave similar increases, and durations that are at least consistent withthe duration of the resource use area identified, and associating themwith the device name after confirming with the user. In one embodiment,outside temperatures and/or the name of the device may be used to makesuch a determination. For example, an other resource use area that hasthe same increase, but a longer duration may be identified as the airconditioning unit the user just identified if the outside temperature atthe time and date corresponding to the resource use area identified ishotter than the outside temperature at the other resource use area. Inone embodiment, to confirm that the other resource use areas correspondto the same device, the other resource use areas identified arehighlighted and the user is asked to confirm that they are correct. Theuser may click on any highlighted resource use area to remove it fromconsideration. The user may then confirm that the highlighted resourceuse areas correspond to the same device, and the frequency of use isidentified for the device. In one embodiment, other information may beidentified that allows an estimate of the cost or resource use over alonger period of time instead of frequency of use, such as typical usein an hour, typical use in an hour as a function of outside or insidetemperature, etc. In one embodiment, the user may click on all of theidentified resource use areas of the graph, thereby removing all ofthem, and manually enter frequency of use, duration, functions, times ofuse, or other information that can be used to calculate the amount ofresource use or cost of resource use of a device. In one embodiment, ifno other resource use areas are automatically identified as describedabove, the user is prompted to enter such information, and suchinformation is received and stored as part of the data structure asdescribed above, all as part of step 526. The method continues at step510.

As the method iterates to step 512, known device assignments may beremoved from either the graph or from a modified set of data based onthe graph that is used to identify resource use areas, to allow resourceuse areas corresponding to unknown devices to be identified more easily.Device assignments may be known because they have been identified by theuser as described herein or reported by a device that reports itsresource use.

If the user does not hover over a resource use area and none of theother conditions exist (entry in the device change label or indicationthat the user is done as described herein) 518, the method continues atstep 510.

If the user indicates they are done with making the device assignmentsto resource use areas 518, the user may be logged out 530 as describedabove.

System.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a system for identifying resource use ofvarious devices is shown according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Three resource consuming devices 610-614 are shown, alongwith a heat pump/furnace 626, though there may be any number of resourceconsuming devices. Resource consuming devices A and B 610-612 useelectricity and are thus electrically coupled to electric meter 620,which may include a conventional smart electric meter, capable ofreporting as described herein via a ZIGBEE wireless network or anotherwireless network such as a conventional wireless mesh network.

Resource consuming device C 614 may employ a different resource, such aswater or gas, and is thus connected to resource meter 622 which may be asmart meter, also ZIGBEE capable, wireless capable or wireless meshnetwork capable.

Meters 620, 622 report rates of resource use as described herein tocollector 630, which forwards such rates to server 650 via a networksuch as the Internet. Meters may report rates of resource use to server650 directly or one 622 may report via the other 620, bypassingcollector 630, though in such case, some meters may serve as thecollectors for other meters. Meters may also implement the method ofFIGS. 3 and/or 4.

Collector 630 includes a ZIGBEE (or other wireless network or wirelessmesh network) capable, Internet capable device that receives reportsfrom meters 620, 622 and forwards them to server 650 with a uniqueidentifier of collector 630 or meters 620, 622 that has been associatedwith the user on the server, for example via the registrationinformation described above or via a system administrator. Collector 630may implement the methods of FIG. 3 or 4.

In one embodiment, resource consuming device B 612 may be a smartdevice, meaning it reports its resource use, for example via a ZIGBEEwireless network connection, other wireless network connection or otherwireless mesh network connection. In one embodiment, the report is madeto collector 630, though in another embodiment, such report may be madeto electric meter 620 which forwards it to collector 630 or server 650.

In one embodiment, server 650 is a conventional server coupled to theInternet that performs the method of FIGS. 2 and 5. Data may be providedfor display via a web interface or ADOBE FLASH user interface that isprovided by server 650 to client computer 640 via the Internet. Clientcomputer 640 may be a conventional personal computer coupled to theInternet, running a conventional browser and optionally running FLASH, acell phone, an IPHONE commercially available from APPLE, INC. or a touchscreen photo display or any other similar device, and is used by theuser to view and provide the data as described above. Server 650 mayobtain weather information as described above from weather web site 660,which may include a conventional weather database providing weatherconditions and temperatures by zip code and time of day.

In one embodiment, client computer 640 serves the function of server 650as well. In another embodiment, client computer 640 is ZIGBEE capable,wireless capable or wireless mesh network capable and also serves thefunction of collector 630. Electric meter 620 may serve the function ofcollector 630. In one embodiment, each user may have their own clientcomputer system 640, devices 610-614, electric or other resource meter620-622, thermostat and heat pump/furnace 624-626 and collector 630,though collector 630 may be shared by multiple users. There may be anynumber of users with similar or identical components 610-640 whoseresource use information is collected by server 650. Server 650 mayinclude one or more conventional web servers and may include aconventional database.

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram illustrating server 650 of FIG. 6 inmore detail according to one embodiment of the present invention.Referring now to FIG. 8, communication interface 810 includes aconventional TCP/IP compatible communication interface, such as anEthernet interface running suitable communication protocols. Allcommunication into or out of server 650 is made via communicationinterface 810 coupled to a conventional network such as the Internet,via input/output 808.

Resource information manager 812 receives resource usage information,for example from collector 630 of FIG. 6 and stores it into resourceusage storage 814, associated with the date and time of receipt and theidentifier of the building to which it pertains, such as a unique deviceidentifier of collector 630 or meters 620-622 that is received with theresource use information. In one embodiment, such identifier is passedwith all such information or information based thereon as describedherein. Resource information manager 812 may also periodically receiveother information, for example, temperatures from weather web site 660that allows determination regarding expected use of the resource asdescribed above, and stores such information with the date and time intoresource usage storage 814, along with information pertaining to theother information, for example the zip code to which the temperaturepertains. Resource information manager 812 may request such informationas part of the process of receiving it.

Registration manager 820 provides a user interface to prompt forregistration information, including the user's address of the user'sresidence or business, the device identifier of collector 630 thatcollects resource usage information for the user's residence or business(or identifiers of meters 620-622), the cost or costs of the resourceand days and times such cost is applicable if the cost of the resourcevaries by time and/or day, from the user and/or system administrator asdescribed above and stores such registration information intoregistration storage 822 associated with the user or users for which itapplies. In one embodiment, registration manager 820 associates theunique device identifier of collector 630 or meters 620-622 with theuser's address in registration storage 822, which may include aconventional address database. Log in manager 830 provides a userinterface to allow the user to log in and uses the registrationinformation in registration storage 822 to authenticate the user.

Once the user is logged in, log in manager 830 provides the useridentifier of the user to resource assignment manager 832, which thensignals the collector 630 for that user that the data rate should beincreased as described above and collector 630 complies. Resourceassignment manager 832 provides information to the user's clientcomputer system 640 that may be used to display in real time or nearreal time resource usage information corresponding to that user fromresource usage storage 814 as described above, and makes assignments ofdevice labels to resource use area information by transforming datastructures in resource assignment storage 834 that also includes theidentifier of the collector 630, a user identifier, device identifier ofcollector 630 as described above and in more detail below. Theinformation in resource assignment storage 834 may include the useridentifier or device identifier, the label that identifies the devicethat used the resource, and the resource use information that identifiesthe amount of the use of the resource by that device during a period,such as annually.

When the user signals resource assignment manager 832 that the userwishes to perform an analysis, resource assignment manager 832 providesthe user identifier or identifier of the collector 630 associated withthat user in registration storage 822 to resource analyzer 840, whichuses the information in any or all of resource assignment storage 834,resource usage storage 814 and registration storage 822 corresponding tothe identifier it receives to perform the analysis described above andprovides indications of potential areas for improvement to suggestionmanager 850, which makes suggestions to the user or provides informationthat may be used by a third party such as a retailer to make suggestionsas described above. The information used for the analysis may includethe assignment information, weather or other information, and theassignment information made to devices with the same device identifieror made to other devices by users having nearby addresses as indicatedby the address database, around the same date and time as describedabove. Resource assignment manager 832 may also signal the collector 630or meter 620-622 associated with the user as described above to reducethe data rate as described above.

For example, resource analyzer 840 may use the user identifier toretrieve the identifier of the collector 630 in registration storage822, and then use the identifier of the collector or the user toretrieve the device assignments in resource assignment storage 834,along with information associated with the device assignments. Resourceanalyzer 840 may then compare the device assignments with an average ofdevice assignments made by other users within a 5 mile radius within 15days of the user's assignment (or on days or at times in with similaroutside and/or inside temperatures) for the same device identifier, suchas “pool pump”. To identify the device assignments within such radius,resource analyzer 840 may identify in registration storage 822 all userswho identified their addresses as being within 5 miles of the address ofthe user whose resource use is being analyzed, based on the map databasestored in registration storage 822 or using a web based map databaseaccessed via communication interface 810. Device assignments may benormalized to similar length periods for the purpose of this analysis,so that if one user's assignments only are made for a 15 minute period,the resource use of each device may be multiplied by four to provide anhourly resource use. Resource uses of days or weeks may also beemployed. If the user whose resource use is outside a boundary condition(e.g. two standard deviations above the average for all such userswithin a five mile radius who made device assignments at times with thesame approximate temperature), the device identifier, resource use ofthat user, and average and standard deviation of the resource use ofother users for the same named device may be supplied by resourceanalyzer 840 as an indication of a potential areas for improvement. Theprocess may be repeated for each identified device. Other means ofidentifying norms, such as a usage database for each device identifier,may also be employed.

It is noted that other information other than the amount of resourcesmay be employed to perform the analysis and such information may besupplied by resource analyzer 840 as well. For example, the fact thatthe pool pump “on” cycles are twice as long as average “on” cycle timesin the area may be analyzed as abnormal by resource analyzer andsupplied to suggestion manager 850, and suggestion manager 850 may usethis information to suggest that the pool pump filter be investigatedfor blockage.

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the resource assignmentmanager 832 of FIG. 8 in more detail according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring now to FIG. 9, display manager 920 providesthe resource usage data for the user (including amount of use of theresource and identifier of the collector) from resource usage storage814 and other information such as cost information that may be receivedby registration manager 820 and stored in registration storage 822 tothe user's client computer system 640. Area assignment manager 922 scansthe data in resource usage storage 814 assigns a unique identifier to,and identifies, the resource use areas that can be clicked on asdescribed above using a coordinate system in common with that used bydisplay manager 920 and provides the coordinates of such area and theidentifier to the client computer system 640 as well as storing it intoa data structure in resource assignment storage 834. Coordinates mayinclude the date and time of day of the beginning (and optionally theend) of the area. Area assignment manager 922 also stores into the datastructure the corresponding resource use information such as amount ofincrease, duration and the like. Resource use area manager 924 receivesdevice label assignments and the identifier of the resource use area towhich the assignment corresponds from the client computer system 640 andthe resource use area identifier (which may be the date and time andcollector identifier) to which each device assignment corresponds, andstores such label assignments into the data structure for that clientand that resource use area in resource assignment storage 834. Changenotice manager 926 receives from client-computer system 640 labelassignments and an indication that they correspond to the change notice,and change notice manager 926 adds the label to the corresponding datastructure for that client, such as the newest one, which may be markedand created by area assignment manager 922 as soon as an increase isdetected (with the resource use information to be added later when thecorresponding decrease is detected).

Each time such an assignment of a label is made to the data structure,resource use area manager 924 or change notice manager 926 provides anidentifier of the user and the data structure corresponding to theassignment to total use manager 928, which identifies potential otherresource use areas that may correspond to the newly labeled one asdescribed above and provides identifiers to client computer system 640,which provides the user interface to the user as described above orotherwise asks the user for information on frequency of use or otherinformation that can be used, for example, to identify the total amountand/or cost of resources used by that device over a longer period oftime, such as a month or a year, and stores such information into thecorresponding data structure.

It is noted that as resource use areas move along the display, areaassignment manager 922 updates the area assignments to client computersystem 640 and in the data structures.

FIG. 10 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the client computersystem 640 of FIG. 6 in more detail according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring now to FIG. 10, communication interface1010 includes a conventional TCP/IP compatible communication interfacesuch as an Ethernet interface running suitable conventionalcommunication protocols, and may contain a ZIGBEE-compatible (orwireless-compatible or wireless mesh compatible) communication interfacerunning suitable communication protocols and may contain a conventionalkeyboard/mouse/monitor interface coupled to a conventional keyboard,mouse and monitor. All communication into or out of client computersystem 640 may be made via communication interface via input/output1008, which may be connected to a network, such as the Internet.

Display manager 1020 receives the information as described above andrenders the appropriate information as graphics and provides therendered graphics to the display (not shown). Other information such ascoordinates and area identifiers are stored into display storage 1022 bydisplay manager 1020. User action manager 1030 receives user commandsand actions such as hovers, and signals display manager 1020 withsufficient information to allow display manager 1020 to display theresponse to such user action as described above, which display manager1020 does. Information to be displayed in response to a hover or changenotices and the like is identified by area assignment manager 922 andprovided to display manager 1020, which stores it into display storage1022 and uses it to display the appropriate response to a user action.User action manager 1030 provides an indication of the user action aswell as any data associated therewith to user action report manager1032, which provides it to the server 650 of FIG. 6 via the network. Login manager 830 has associated in resource assignment storage 834 theuser's IP address with the user at log in, or may employ cookies or thelike at log in and associate an identifier in the cookie with the userin resource assignment storage 834 to allow the server to identify theuser when information is received from the client computer system 640.

FIG. 11 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the reportingapparatus of the meters 620-622 or collector 630 of FIG. 6 in moredetail according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referringnow to FIG. 11, communication interface 1110 includes a conventionalZIGBEE, wireless, wireless mesh or TCP/IP-compatible communicationinterface or any of these. Command receiver 1120 receives viacommunication interface 1110 commands to increase or decrease the datarate as described above and signals data provider to increase ordecrease the data rate as described above. Data provider 1122 receivesdata from meters via communication interface 1110 or receives from theconventional portion of a meter via input 1124 the resource use rate andprovides the data as described above. In one embodiment, data provider1122 may provide the data as described above with respect to FIG. 4.

1. A method of identifying resource use, comprising: periodically receiving use of the resource from a meter; graphically displaying to a user the resource use received from the meter over time; identifying to the user at least one resource use area of the graph of the resource use over time that indicates use of a resource by at least one device responsive to at least one steep slope of the graph; receiving from the user an identifier of at least one of the at least one device that caused the resource to be used in the manner corresponding to at least one of the at least one resource use area; identifying exceptional use of the resource responsive to the identifier of the at least one of the at least one device and the use of the resource; and providing information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 2. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising: receiving information about the price of the resource; and identifying the cost of the resource use area to the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided directly to the user.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided to a party other than the user.
 5. The method of claim 4: wherein the party other than the user is a retailer; and the retailer contacts the user regarding reducing the resource use responsive to the information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 6. The method of claim 1: additionally comprising receiving information regarding known use of the resource by at least one other device, other than the at least one device; and wherein the exceptional use is identified additionally responsive to the known use of the resource by the at least one other device.
 7. The method of claim 1: additionally comprising receiving information regarding weather; and wherein the exceptional use is identified additionally responsive to the weather information received.
 8. A system for identifying resource use, comprising: a resource information manager having an input coupled to a meter that measures use of a resource by multiple devices, the resource information manager for periodically receiving a quantity of use of the resource from the meter, adding date and time of use to the quantity of use, and providing a plurality of said quantities of use of the resource and date and time at an output; a display manager having an input coupled to the resource information manager output for receiving the plurality of quantities of use of the resource and date and time, the display manager for providing at an output information used for graphically displaying to a user the resource use received from the meter over time; an area assignment manager having an input coupled to the display manager output for receiving the information used for graphically displaying to the user the resource use received from the meter over time, the area assignment manager for identifying to the user at an output at least one resource use area of the graph of the resource use over time that indicates use of a resource by at least one device responsive to at least one steep slope of the graph; a resource use area manager having an input for receiving from the user an identifier of at least one of the at least one device that caused the resource to be used in the manner corresponding to at least one of the at least one resource use area, the resource use area manager for providing the identifier at an output; a resource analyzer having an input coupled to the resource use area manager output for receiving the identifier and to the resource information manager output for receiving the plurality of quantities of use of the resource and date and time, the resource analyzer for identifying at an output information regarding exceptional use of the resource responsive to the identifier of the at least one of the at least one device and the use of the resource; and a suggestion manager having an input coupled to the resource analyzer output for receiving the information regarding exceptional use of the resource, and for providing at an output information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein: the area assignment manager input is additionally for receiving information about the price of the resource, the resource information manager for providing the information about the price of the resource at an output; and the area assignment manager is additionally for identifying to the user at the output the cost of the resource use area to the user.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided directly to the user.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided to a party other than the user.
 12. The system of claim 11: wherein the party other than the user is a retailer; and the retailer contacts the user regarding reducing the resource use responsive to the information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 13. The system of claim 8 wherein: the resource analyzer input is additionally for receiving information regarding known use of the resource by at least one other device, other than the at least one device; and the resource analyzer identifies the exceptional use additionally responsive to the known use of the resource by the at least one other device.
 14. The system of claim 8: additionally comprising receiving information regarding weather; and the exceptional use is identified additionally responsive to the weather information received.
 15. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for identifying resource use, the computer program product comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer system to: periodically receive use of the resource from a meter; graphically display to a user the resource use received from the meter over time; identify to the user at least one resource use area of the graph of the resource use over time that indicates use of a resource by at least one device responsive to at least one steep slope of the graph; receive from the user an identifier of at least one of the at least one device that caused the resource to be used in the manner corresponding to at least one of the at least one resource use area; identify exceptional use of the resource responsive to the identifier of the at least one of the at least one device and the use of the resource; and provide information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15, additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to: receive information about the price of the resource; and identify the cost of the resource use area to the user.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided directly to the user.
 18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the information regarding correcting the exceptional use is provided to a party other than the user.
 19. The computer program product of claim 18: wherein the party other than the user is a retailer; and the retailer contacts the user regarding reducing the resource use responsive to the information regarding correcting the exceptional use.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15: additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to receive information regarding known use of the resource by at least one other device, other than the at least one device; and wherein the exceptional use is identified additionally responsive to the known use of the resource by the at least one other device.
 21. The computer program product of claim 15: additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to receive information regarding weather; and wherein the exceptional use is identified additionally responsive to the weather information received. 